?W Revue gets its first MAJOR review.....

SHOW BUSINESS is a 'trade' publication for theatre/film professionals in NYC. (NOTE: since this review was written we have added two performances 8/31 and 9/1... during the RNC!)

THE QUESTION W REVUE
SHOW BUSINESS Review by David Hurst

Don't let the phrase "political cabaret" in the subtitle of the shrewdly entertaining new show at the Duplex, The Question W Revue, keep you away next month when the Republicans come to town. On the contrary, it's all the more reason you should stop by and see it August 17, 18, 24 and 25. With a first-rate cast that includes Joan Crowe, Rob Langeder, Sue Matsuki and Miles Phillips, The Question W Revue is surprisingly entertaining, with parody lyrics that will have lovers of democracy–and those who are scared to death of 'Dubya'–applauding loudly in both recognition of and disgust for the current administration's blunders and policies.

Swiftly and creatively directed by Jay Rogers, the material that Brooks Cowan and Jeff Matson have fashioned includes fresh twists on show tunes and pop songs that will have even jaded cabaret-goers smiling broadly. Whether they're skewering "Bush Speak" with "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" and "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" or putting the media in their place with a delicious medley set to "That's Entertainment titled, "That's Infotainment!," Crowe and Matsuki make a modern-day Hope & Crosby with sharp comic timing while Langeder and Phillips weild their Broadway-sized voices with power and confidence. Together they sound terrific in the group numbers and Rogers wisely kept the staging simple, breezy and smart.

True, Cowan & Matson's original material, especially the ballads, are not as effective as their parodies and slow things down a bit. But most of the time, they're shooting for the same spirited zaniness we remember from the Laugh In montages and it's to their credit that they succeed more often than not. In fact, everyone involved deserves five gold stars for even attempting material so pointedly political and decidedly un-commercial when it's so much easier to just do the opposite.

Do yourself a favor, go and support The Question W Revue–and take a friend.



more photos and other info at www.questionw.com

Too bad I can't make it up for a show.

I'll definitely check out the show if I'm in NY one night (I live in NJ so the probability is quite high).

be sure to say hello to the tall guy in the DU cap at the back of the house....

I'd like to buy one.

I will DEFINITELY have a video available but I want to see if I can produce a DVD as well.

We're filming the show in August and I hope to have at least the video available by early September.

Watch for an announcement here and/or www.questionw.com

thanks!

when it was first playing at Paulson's.

Forbidden Washington? Heheh.

So proud of you.

the original FB was one of the very first shows I saw when I moved to NYC. totally pissed me off as I was writing that kind of parody in CT and now, couldn't do it in NYC w/o looking like I was ripping off FB... <sigh>

That's one terrific review... you should be proud of yourself. You all should be proud!

:toast:

Congratulations on the extended run!

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

hopefully, the first of MANY!

2nd MAJOR review will be on the stands tonight...

Sounds like a wonderful show. Wish you the best of luck and hope you have standing room only crowds. For anyone going to the RNC convention this sounds like big fun. You should take in the show.

Sonia

at the show.

the next BIG review will be out tonight... but, we already know it's very positive so, not worried a bit!

for this thread.

tomorrow...........???

ANOTHER REVIEW!!!

www.questionw.com

Looking forward to the next glowing review!

I will post in the morning, otherwise, it will be later in the day. we KNOW it's going to be GOOD... just don't know HOW GOOD yet...

thanks!

couldn't get the BACK STAGE tonight... will post tomorrow

BACK STAGE is *the* industry paper. this is HUGE for us! HUGE!!

Pulling Out the Stops

I guess it was inevitable that George W. Bush would make it into the cabaret arena. This happened in the form of an hour of timely sociopolitical madness called "The Question W Revue," which will return later in August to the Duplex. The show stars cabaret favorites Joan Crowe, Rob Landgeder, Sue Matsuki and Miles Phillips, with musical direction by John Bowen and clever direction by Jay Rogers. Original songs are by Brooks Cowan (music) and Jeff Matson (lyrics).

Attacking each skit with buffoonery, the show flaunts fast-paced silliness and wacky campiness with brio. The result is an hour that is wildly funny and irreverent. It is an outrageous musical satire that rips into today's headlines and take the audience into an off-the-wall 'no sin zone.'

The show takes shots at the alleged lies of the Bush administration, the shourtcomings of the liberal media in exposing them, and numerous other targets through a series of original songs, parodies of show tunes, sketches, and rants, taking on a life of its own thanks to the energetic cast. Starting with "The Opening Number" followed by "Bushspeak," with biting lyric lines like "The most shocking thing about this show is that it's all true...and Halliburton hasn't found a way to profit from it," establishes the tone of the frenzied hour, opening a Pandora's box of Bush bashing and acerbic rhetoric borrowed from today's headlines.

Phillips proved effective delivering "Something I Never Considered," a profound ballad about disappointment. Crowe and Matsuki were hysterical as they bantered together, told political jokes, and ended up in the sidesplitting number "A Dream" tangoing across the stage as lesbian lovers. Crowe also stood out on "The Right Kind of Hymn," a campy country-western ditty about gay bashing. Still, as talented as this cast is, it was handsome Rob Langeder who was a revelation in a tour de force performance. Particularly on "T.M.H.M.O.E." (which stands for "The Most Hated Man on Earth"), he pulled out all the stops with his striking voice and excellent musical-comedy skills. With a strong musical theatre background, he was a showstopper on this ambitious ode to hypocrisy, running a gamet of emotions.

No one connected with the current administration or media is safe for attack in this clever show (wait till you see what they do to Attorney General John Ashcroft and controversial Fox News host Bill O'Reilly). Regardless of your political persuasion or cynicism, the show has lethal doses of mass appeal and lots of lighthearted controversy in what is sure to be one of the most talked about revues of the year. You may not agree, but you'll have a ball.